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ICELANDIC fishing companies are being urged to stop sending whole fish abroad and process everything at home in order to reduce unemployment.
Elin Bjorg Ragnarsdottir, head of the Icelandic fish processing and exporting association, said the country could create up to 1,500 extra jobs if all fish catches were processed in the country. She said the move would also generate an extra £32 million (six billion Icelandic kroners) in revenue for the country and save around £15 million (three billion kroners) in unemployment payments. She also said there would be similar benefits through additional export revenues because processed fish fillets were more valuable than whole fish.
Such statements are certain to alarm fish processors in Grimsby and Hull which have already seen a sharp drop in Icelandic fish landings in the past 12 months. In fact the situation is beginning to cause serious concern on the Humber where shipments from Iceland have fallen by more than 40 per cent in the past year.
It is one reason why the Norwegians' fishing leaders were invited to Grimsby for a major conference last week in the hope that country can make up the shortfall. Iceland exported around 37,000 tons of wholefish (mainly cod and haddock) to Britain and Europe last year, much of that going to the Humber.
A new parliamentary bill has been discussed by the Althingi fisheries and agriculture committee. This suggests that all Icelandic-caught fish be landed in the country in order to create new jobs and generate more revenue. Ms Ragnarsdottir told the Icelandic broadcasting organisation RUV that it would be silly not to take the bill seriously with so many people currently out of work. However, there may be pressure from the Icelandic fishing industry for the government to act on the bill.
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